Thursday, September 30, 2010

The Towson Tigers are 1-3 for the 2010 season. They have losses to Indiana, Villanova and Columbia. The Tiger's lone win was over 1-3 Coastal Carolina.

I was able to watch most of the Towson-Indiana game on the Big Ten Network. The Tigers stayed with Indiana into the second quarter where the score was 24-14. Indiana scored the next 30 points to pull away.

The star of that game for the Tigers was QB Chris Hart (6-4 220). Hart is a JUCO from Georgia Military College. Hart went 16-125 yard rushing with a 7.7 yards/carry ave. He also threw 16-35 165 for 288 total yards against a Big Ten team. Several times Hart got into the Indiana secondary and just out ran the Indiana DBs.

Hart has thrown six INTs and has a low 115.4 EFF rating.

Recently Citadel transfer QB Bart Blanchard has played more. Blanchard had six series against Columbia.

That's about all the good news for the Tigers offensively. The two leading Tiger running backs are Tremayne Dameron and Nygee Carmichael who have a 46.9 and 25.9 yards/game average respectively. Both backs together have only 288 rushing yards for the season. The longest run by either player this season is 12 yards.

The Sports Network reports the WAC is targeting Montana and four others to fill two open slots in the league for the 2012-13 school year. If the Grizzlies jump, it will be a big loss for FCS football. Montana is one of the top five teams in the FCS/I-AA Division in attendance and fan interest.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

From the Towson game notes"Dating back to 2005, the Tigers have won nine of their last ten home games under the lights ... Their only defeat during that stretch was a 27-3 loss to Joe Flacco and Delaware on September 22, 2007."

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Matty Vautour says the 2010 schedule favors UMass. I still think Stony Brook has a chance at the Big South title. If they do, that would make six potential playoff teams on the Minutemen's schedule -----plus Michigan.

In The Sports Network poll, UMass and William & Mary have identical records. The Tribe lost ot UMass head-to-head. William &Mary lost to UMass and the Minutemen lost to Michigan. We are ranked one slot behind them.

I have 34 images from the Holy Cross game in a Picasa Web album here. It contains a couple of images of George N. Parks last performance in McGuirk. I took the above image as I was walking out after the game. Look at the expressions on the band members faces.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

The Big South video worked, but it was like watching the game through an aquarium. To me, UMass looked flat out tired from the long trip to the midwest. UMass got better as the night went on and the defense pitched a shutout in the fourth quarter.

Friday, September 24, 2010

This page (scroll down) from the Big South Network says we can subscribe to the UMass-StonyBrook game for a one-time fee of $5.95. Don't blame me if you end up making a $5.95 donation to the Big south, because I'll be in the same boat. Hope it works.

UPDATE: I just signed up via the link above. I received an e-mail saying my credit card had been charged $5.95. So, it appears the worse case scenario is that I'm out a couple bucks. I tried logging in on their "Live feed" and it worked with my Linux/Firefox combo.

Over on the MGoBlue blog they are still obsessing about UMass. Read the following post on a UMass running play.

I have a little different take on the play: note the blue line of scrimmage. By the time Jonathan gets to the line of scrimmage, (12:20 game clock image above) Emil Igwenagu, Andrew Kervis and Stephane Milhim have pushed the Michigan defenders three yards back. Jonathan does a quick shake which freezes the Wolverines outside contain and then runs down hill three yards in the crease. Great blocking and heady running leads to a six yard gain. The Minutemen did that all game long as Hernandez averaged 4.4 yards/carry and Griffin had 5.6 yards/carry.

Speaking of Michigan, they play Bowling Green at noon Saturday. The game is on ESPN2. You could watch Michigan, follow with Richmond -Delaware on Comcast Sports New England at 3:30, then catch the UMass game at 6:00 on streaming video. Mrs Blog probably would not be happy with me if I do that.

Bowling Green's HC Dave Clawson coached at Richmond and Villanova before his gig at Bowling Green. Former UMass assistant coaches Sean Spencer and Bill Durkin are on the same staff.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

I have a Picasa web album from the Michigan game here. Michigan has dire warnings about what you can take into their stadium. "Small cameras" only are allowed. I ended up taking my SLR with a short 18-200mm (28-320 effective focal length) lens. We were up in the the nose bleed seats (row 87), so my longer zoom would have been much better for photography. It turns out the ticket taker never even glanced at my camera. FWIW, check out the album.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

It appears that live streaming video will be available through the Big South Network. If I'm reading the FAQ right, you have to sign up for a month of Big South membership at a cost of $6.66. Then you would have to cancel membership after the game as they automatically renew your subscription.

AnnArbor.com looks at Michigan's running game defense. Key quote from the article:"If UMass had come in and run some funky Air Force-style wing formation where the ball is hard to follow, (Greg) Robinson would get a lot more blame. But that didn’t happen. The Minutemen essentially said, 'We’re going to try to run the ball down your throats and see what happens.' And what happened was really, really scary."

Delaware's Andrew Pierce received the CAA's Offensive Player-of-the-Week. He ran for 200 yards and two TD's-----against Duquesne. UMass' Hernandez and Griffin run for 211 yards and two TD's against Michigan and they don't get the award?

One of the commenters mentioned the excellent coaching by UMass staff for the Michigan game.

The UMass Blog concurs. It looks to me as if Coach Morris, Coach Picucci, Coach Dudzinski and all the rest of the staff gamed just about every ounce of advantage out of what UMass had to offer. Take a bow coaches!

Note that the Michigan coach made a point of going to the UMass locker room and praising Coach Morris and the team.

At one point during the game, the Michigan announcer gave the attendance. It was the 217th consecutive game at the Big House with more than 100,000 attending. Then he added: "This is currently the largest group of people watching football anywhere."

The UMass Blog was at Richmond last year when Kyle Havens had a terrible game against the Spiders. Yesterday, was Kyle's redemption as he went 22-29 222 2TD's. Tell Kyle he was the best FCS/I-A QB in the nation yesterday.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Prior to the game the Michigan announcers told about the death of George Parks and asked for a moment of silence. One hundred ten thousand people went totally quiet and many stood and removed their hats.

The Michigan band played "Fight UMass" in their pregame show.

During halftime the announcers again told about UMass's loss. The Michigan fans gave a great reception to the UMass Band.

After the game, many Michgan fans noticed our UMass gear and every one was quick to say "Great Game by UMass". A good number made it a point to express condolences about George.

Today was great football experience and a good part of that came from Michigan and Michigan fans. The Big House is special and today so were all the Michigan fans.

Ke'Mon Bailey apparently wants to hype some interest in the game. It certainly generated some ink for UMass football and the Michigan administration is probably happy that it will inspire Wolverine fans to stay motivated and show up for a FCS game.

UMass Blog:The Maize & Brew is a great name for a Blog! While visiting Ann Arbor, UMass fans may have the occasion to be thirsty. Can you recommend any places to remedy that problem?

MAB:Thank you, my friend. As you can guess, the name was inspired by a certain love of malty, hoppy beverages, so I can suggest a place or two to partake. My personal favorite is Ashley's. 70 plus taps. Great food. But get there early. There are two TVs in the place so don't go there planning to watch a game. Go there planning to drink outstanding beverages. Next on my list is Grizzly Peak, for a higher quality meal, and outstanding home brewed beer. The big oak bar, friendly people and great pub and german food. this is a can't miss if you like good craft beer and better food. If you're looking for a complete list of great things to see and places to eat in Ann Arbor, check out Maize n Brew's 100 Reasons to love Ann Arbor. Click through, there are plenty of places to eat and drink that you'll love. If you want an incredibly greasy burger, Blimpy Burger is your one stop shop. Ask for the fried egg on top of a quint.

UMass Blog:At UMass, we love our marching bands. In 1998, the UMass band won the Sudler Trophy for the top college band in any division. Please tell us about the Michigan Band and other game day traditions at the Big House. (Note: this question was asked before I learned about George.)

Ah here we go. As game time approaches there are many things you're going to want to do. A recent innovation in the ever expanding list of Michigan traditions is the "Victors' Walk". The Victors Walk was started by Rodriguez as a way to get the fans fired up before games and allowing the fans the opportunity to give high fives and cheer on the Maize n Blue before the entered the stadium. Everyone who's gone has said nothing but great things about it, and it's worth your time to see it at least once. The walk usually occurs about three hours before game time.

For the musically inclined, the Michigan Marching Band does it's final warmup and march to Michigan Stadium around 11:30-11:45am. If you love the pageantry of college football, this is something you must see.

Now, aside from some of the festivities surrounding the Band and the Team, there's still a lot to see in Ann Arbor. If you get there early enough, I'd recommend walking through the Diag and to the Union just to see the sites. The Union is still one of the Grande Dames of the Big Ten's architecture and the Diag is as classic a collegiate setting as you will ever see in your life. For merchandising, our buddies at Underground Printing have the hook up as well as our friends at the MDen and Moe's Sports Shop.

But as we get closer to game time, if you want to see a mass of humanity united in a single endeavor you must, MUST walk down State Street to the point where it meets Hoover Street. The intersection of State and Hoover has turned into a traffic nightmare but a tailgating party dream over the last few years. The streets are literally clogged with collegians partying, drinking, dancing, and listening to music that I listened to more than fifteen years ago. Yes, Humpty Dance/Bust a Move/Anything by Blondie were already old when I went to school; and yes, they're still being played. As you turn down Hoover toward the stadium, it's a sea of humanity.

Then, you arrive at the stadium. Make sure you arrive about a half hour prior to game time so that you can see the team Touch the Banner and the Band make the pre-game Block M on the field. These last things are post tailgate, and things you should do anyway.

UMass Blog:My copy of the Sporting News 2010 College Football preview magazine has Michigan picked #8 in the Big Ten. That was BDR (before Denard Robinson). Tell us about him. You had Superman on your team last year and didn't play him?

MAB: Heh. Yeah. But Superman didn't learn how to throw the ball until this season. Denard was one of those incredibly gifted athletes that never really received position coaching until he got to college. Everyone knew how fast he was. Everyone knew how strong his arm was. But getting those two attributes on the same page took a while. With a full season under his belt, Denard finally had the game slow down for him and he finally had the chance to receive some basic QB coaching. The result has been awesome. But before people forget, it's not like the guy ahead of him is chopped liver. Tate Forcier was a really good freshman quarterback. It's not a case of someone losing a starting job. It's one of those kids, Denard, winning it. And that's what's gotten Michigan fans so excited. Just as a final aside, Denard really is a great kid.

UMass Blog:From what I've been reading Michigan has been having some injury problems especially on defense. Will that be a factor against a FCS team like UMass?

MAB: Your guess is as good as mine. Michigan's defense is a huge question mark this season and it's not like we haven't had problems defending against FCS opponents before. Here's the thing, we lost our most important starter before the season even started. So at this point there's no "OMG Whatawedo!?" going through the program. There aren't any starters from the last game that will be out for this week, so I don't think there are any problems that would effect Michigan more this week than any other week.

UMass Blog:In preseason, UMass was also picked 8th in our league primarily because we only returned only nine starters. It seems we have filled those places with some pretty good players. UMass fans are thinking playoffs. With the stellar play of Robinson, what are the upper limits on the hopes of Michigan fans?

MAB :Like you guys, a hot start fuels a lot of optimism. Michigan fans, at least those with short memories, are already practicing Denard's Heisman speech. I'm not quite that drunk on the Kool-Aid.... yet... Robinson's play has actually been beyond anything we could've hope for from the QB position but it's also shown us how reliant we are upon him. So, with little non-Robinson related production, I can't bring myself to go beyon my initial 7-8 win prediction for the Wolverines this year. Do I think there's a possibility that Michigan could get to 10 wins? Sure. It's a possibility. But it's equally possible the wheels could fall off like they did last year. So this season I think most Michigan fans are holding their breath and keeping it realistic.

Special thanks for Dave for taking the time to visit with us! Be sure to check out Maize & Brew for Michigan news,

Some notes on this sad morning, I was programming my DVR for the Michigan game and found none of the Dish channels were carrying the game live. The only time it was available was a replay at 1:00 am on Sunday morning. Don't program your VCR or DVD without checking actual schedule in your area.

Under the FWIW catagory. If any UMass fans are driving to the game and looking for a place to park or tailgate, I received the following in an e-mail.

Hello,

I own a parking business not far from Michigan Stadium that has great tailgating spaces and is very opponent-fan-friendly. We had hundreds of UConn fans here a couple of weeks ago and they had a great time.

f you don’t mind, please spread the word to UMass fans on your blog. Our parking business website is www.michiganfootballparking.com. I actually operate a lumberyard on the site but on football Saturdays we become a football parking lot.

The Reception will take place at the University of Michigan Golf Course (500 East Stadium Blvd) from 9:30am - 11:30am in the Club House. No tickets will be mailed for this event. Please bring your confirmation for registration check-in at the Golf Course. The Golf Course is a short walk to the stadium.Frank's note: I believe this event is only for people who bought the travel package .

Game Time - 12:00pm - Saturday, September 18:

*Stadium Policy: The University of Michigan has very restrictive policies regarding what items may be brought into Michigan Stadium on game day.Specifically, NO BAGS OF ANY KIND (purses) are allowed into Michigan Stadium. Umbrellas and seat backs are also prohibited.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. -- Looking for the UMass at Michigan football game on television? Or what radio dials you can listen to the game on this Saturday. The game is being televised live nationally on the Big Ten Network in HD. It will be carried on DirecTV, Dish Network and Comcast Cable. Also, the game will be carried statewide on the UMass Sports Network with a radio broadcasts. All your info can be found here.

On DirecTV, the game will air on Channel 612 and 612-1.On Dish Network, the game will air on Channel 5441 and 9502.On Comcast Cable in Massachusetts, the game will air on Channel 285.Charter Cable does not carry the Big Ten Network.

The UMass Sports Network will carry the game statewide on radio with the following coverage areas:

AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass Athletic Department will be holding a "Watch Party" for the UMass-Michigan football game on Saturday, Sept. 18 at Arizona Pizza Company at the Hampshire Mall in Hadley. Head basketball coach Derek Kellogg will be at the Watch Party to meet and mingle with the UMass fans. Come out at 12 noon to watch the Minutemen and Wolverines battle on Saturday.

The game will be airing on the Big Ten Network.

For more information, please call the marketing office at 413-545-1401.--

Disclaimer

The UMass Football Blog is not affiliated with the University of Massachusetts, the UMass Football team or any other UMass website or organization. The content of this blog is solely the responsibility of the owner of the Blog and does not reflect the views of the University of Massachusetts or the UMass Athletic Dept. Content is copy write to the author.